Today I’m talking with Adam Gelb, President and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice. Adam started CCJ in 2019 with a vision of bringing together as many different viewpoints as possible from across the political aisle to find common ground and make smart, evidence-backed policy recommendations.
For this conversation, we talk about why murder has fallen so dramatically over the last few years, how you build a sustainable organization that spans the political spectrum, and how CCJ brings together experts on such a wide range of topics covering everything from crime trends to the future of AI in criminal justice.
Adam Gelb has been working for a more just and effective criminal justice system throughout a varied 40-year career. Before founding the Council on Criminal Justice in 2019, Gelb was an award-winning crime reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, staff to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, crime policy director for the lieutenant governor of Maryland, director of the Georgia Sentencing Commission, and led public safety initiatives at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Gelb speaks frequently with the media about national trends and state innovations and advises policy makers on strategies that are grounded in facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice.
Please give the episode a listen and rate it if you're so inclined (5 stars and up please!).
And while you’re here, be sure to check out these other recent great episodes:
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott
Filmmakers Ferne Pearlstein and Bob Edwards
Professor and researcher Ian Adams
Politics podcaster Galen Druke
